The Restaurant
by LostAgain2015
Summary: The HoA characters in a restaurant AU. Read as the characters live on their lives as managers, waiters/waitresses, cooks, etc. when a new owner enters the scene. Not only will the restaurant change, but maybe personal lives will be changed too. Read as the characters live on with their lives. Maybe OOC. Rated T to be safe.
1. New Ownership

**THE RESTAURANT**

 **Setup:** The characters from HoA are now in an entirely different universe. The story will revolve around a restaurant and its workers, with some customers too. Hope you enjoy.

(Fabian)

"Let me introduce myself to all of you", a pretty blonde girl in expensive clothes tells us as we employees of this medium-sized restaurant gathered about. Just a while back, as we were about to close, she came in and motioned to us all to stop. We were a little shocked by her suddenness.

"My name is Amber Millington, and I will be your new boss. I just bought this place. Isn't that wonderful?"

Wait, new boss? That's impossible..., I tell myself. She couldn't be more than 21 years old by how she looked. We were basically in the same age group.

Nobody spoke among us. We just stared at her like she was a ghost. They must also be wondering why she was saying all these things.

"Jeez, guys! I won't bite! Is it normally this quiet in here?", she asks us.

"Um, no. Not really. Usually we dance around as we clean the place up for the next day!", Alfie, our janitor, admits. We glare at him, as he whispers a silent "Sorry!"

Her expression changes to an unreadable expression as she asks, "Who is the manager here?" My fellow employees all point at me. Oh crap, I'm going to be fired, I thought to myself as she called me to the manager's office.

I swallow the lump formed in my throat as I stood there in the office, while she was sitting down in the chair.

"Name?", she asks in a tone I was not sure if it was stern or not.

I reply, "Fabian Rutter."

She smiles at me as she points me to a seat. "Sit down, Fabian. I just want to talk to the person who knows the most about running this place."

I reluctantly sit on the chair, as she asks me some basic questions, like how much we were paid, how many staff there were, and how the place ran. I answered as honestly as possible, mostly due to fear of losing my job. She was checking on what seemed to be my profile every now and then.

After seemingly analyzing my answers to her questions, she looks at me. I think she caught the worried expression I had on my face, because she reassures me. "Don't worry, Fabian. I like you, and so I have already decided to keep you as manager of the place.

"Thank you, ma'am!", I respectfully nod towards her. After all, she was my boss.

"Hey, don't call me that. I may be your boss, but I want you guys to treat me as one of your peers. After all, we're the same age. You may call me Miss Millington during work hours, but you can call me by my first name, Amber, after work."

That was cool, I guess. And she was just 20 years old. She seemed a bit young to own the place, but I guess she could afford buying this place, and besides, it was not my problem.

"If you insist, Miss Millington it is", I finally give in after I tried, unsuccessfully, to call her madam or boss, etc.

She looks at the time and realizes it was becoming a bit late. "So, I will be observing tomorrow. I will see for myself how the place gets run, and then we might talk about it. Okay, Fabian?"

"Yes, Miss Millington."

"And yeah, don't forget to tell the others. I would like to see the whole crew at work tomorrow. Do what you normally do, I don't want you guys showing off at me."

"Of course." I smile, then after she gave me permission to leave, I head towards the others, who were now sitting on chairs.

"So, how was it, man? Did she fire you?", the cashier and my good friend Eddie asks me.

"It was alright, and no, she didn't fire me.", I assure him.

"Well, that's cool. What did you two talk about then?", he asks me.

"Just some basic questions about how this place operates, that's all. And yeah, before I forget, she said she will be observing tomorrow. So I will expect everyone to be here."

"Ugh, really? What a drag.", Patricia, one of our waitresses, grumbles. Sometimes I wonder how she gets her tips. But I knew she would come anyway, so I did not mind her.

"And guys, act normal tomorrow. She specifically said that tomorrow should be like any other day, no showing off. Okay, people?", I remind them before I forget.

"Yeah, okay." They all say in unison apart from Patricia who mumbles out something like, "Whatever, if that's what she wants..."

"Okay, dismissed!", I say in my loud voice, such was the way I send them home after a day's work. At that, they all disperse through the front door, leaving me and Amber in here alone.

I knock at the office door to ask permission to leave from Amber, our boss.

"Yeah?" she looks up from the paperwork she was sifting through.

"May I leave, Amber?", I ask, a bit unsure.

"Yeah, sure. I'll just follow later, after I finish checking your profiles.", she tells me, turning back to the paper she was reading.

I decide to wait for her, as I had nothing set to do for this evening anyway. And it was a habit of mine, being the last to leave the place, even at the tenure of my old boss. He would always tell me that i was to be the one who was responsible for locking up the place. She just acknowledges me with a nod, concentrating on the files she was reading.

She finally walks out of the office. She was a little surprised that I was still here.

"So, why are you still here, Fabian?", she asks me, curious.

"Just a force of habit, Miss Millington.", I state kindly.

"You can call me, Amber, you know. It's after work hours.", she reminds me.

"Okay, Amber."

As we leave the place, I turn off the lights and check the place just to be safe. Then I lock the door.

"Do you want a ride home?", Amber asks me, seeing that there were no other parked cars other than hers.

"Nope, my apartment's just a block away. I'll walk. But thanks, Amber."

"So, see you tomorrow then, Fabian?", Amber asks me as she starts her car.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow, Miss Millington!"

"It's Amber.", she says before driving away in her Porsche convertible.

I walk home to my apartment, which wasn't really a block away, but still just a few blocks away. While walking, my thoughts wander to Amber. She's really pretty, I tell myself. And nice too. But it was still the first time we met her, so maybe it'll change. But I hope that she was as nice as she seemed. She would be a wonderful person to work for. Such a likable woman like her, and still single. She would be perfect...

Whoa, whoa, whoa, I stop myself. My mind was going places again. A small smile managed to sneak out of the corners of my mouth. I shake my head off that thought as I continue walking to my apartment.

Once I reach my apartment, I did not bother to eat. I just changed to my sleep clothes and fall to bed.

 **I know, another story, which brings my tally to 7 stories. But I like, wanted this idea, so here it is. Do you readers want me to continue or not? Please review.**

 **If you were wondering about the rest of the Anubis cast, they will appear on the later chapters. I did not deem them necessary to appear in this chapter.**

 **Currently the only characters are Fabian, Eddie, Alfie, Patricia and Amber. More in the next chapter.**


	2. Venture

**THE RESTAURANT**

 **Setup:** The characters from HoA are now in an entirely different universe. The story will revolve around a restaurant and its workers, with some customers too. Hope you enjoy.

(Amber)

Fabian seemed to be a really nice guy, and cute too, I tell myself. I was thinking of firing him at first, when we did not meet yet, but I decided to keep him to his job after my meeting with him. As of the others, I'll have to see tomorrow.

I'm driving my car home, when a ring from my phone interrupts me from my thoughts. I place the call on loudspeaker. It was Joy, my best friend.

"So, how was your visit at the place you just bought? Fire anyone yet?", she asks me, curiosity in her tone.

"Um, no, actually. I decided not to fire the restaurant manager after meeting with him. He seemed to be nice. And for the others, I'll see for tomorrow.", I reply.

"Nice, huh… Just nice?"

"Um, no. He's cute, actually."

"Of course he is." I can practically hear Joy roll her eyes at me.

"He is cute.", I insist.

"I'll have to visit your place sometime to verify that's true.", she repled.

"How about you, Joy? How are you doing at your dad's company?"

"Um, cool, I guess. I stared at the computer all day as dad forced me to do things, telling me that I had to treat it as a real job. It's not as easy as I first thought."

"Nothing is as easy as you think it is, Joy." I tell her matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, right."

"So, anything interesting happen there?"

"Yeah, actually. Jerome paid a visit to the company."

"And?" I ask, knowing that Joy was nowhere close to a relationship with Jerome. Sometimes I wonder why she was so obsessed with him, while he was ignoring her most of the time.

"He ignored me again." She sighs.

"Why don't you move on from him?"

"You see, Amber, I don't understand why he does not seem to notice me. I mean, I'm pretty, I come from a rich family, etc… I keep giving him all my attention…"

"Maybe you're trying too hard?" I suggest.

"Yeah, maybe. Thanks for the chat, Amber. Call you soon. Bye…"

"Bye…" I end the call, and realize that I already passed our mansion. I make a U-turn, and drive back to the mansion.

"So, Amber. How's becoming an owner of a restaurant?", my father asks me as we sit on the dining table, waiting for the food to be served.

"It was really nice, actually. I get to see the whole crew, and I had a nice talk with the manager." I tell him.

"That's good. You're on the right path for success to make a name for yourself."

"Thanks, dad. I won't give up on this one, I promise."

"I know you won't."

Just then the butler arrives, serving us the food, and we start eating formally, extreme table manners and all that. Sometimes it gets old, but I was in a good mood today and I was going to enjoy it.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the restaurant works for tomorrow. It was my first venture in ownership of a place I can proudly say I, and only I own, not a place my family, or more specifically, my parents, own. I can grade out if the atmosphere is right, if the place was running like it should, with harmony and efficiency, the two things most important to keep something running. At least that's what my father told me. I have picked up a lot of great tips from my parents on how to operate a place, but this was the first time any of us in the family took on the challenge of a food-serving business, and I was not going to disappoint them. I expect things to be a bit different, but I hoped not too many things were different, so that I can put to good use everything I learned from my parents.

I fall asleep on my own bed while thinking about this new venture, and everything in it. I was also looking forward to seeing Fabian again, which had me smiling as I fell asleep.

 **Joy appears in the story, and there is a mention of Jerome! More in the next chapter. This was not too long of a chapter, but I'm going to make up for it next chapter.**

 **P.S. Sorry for the long wait. I was busy.**


	3. Interview Observation

**THE RESTAURANT**

 **Setup:** The characters from HoA are now in an entirely different universe. The story will revolve around a restaurant and its workers, with some customers too. Hope you enjoy.

(Fabian)

I was having a dream about… Let's just say it's work-related… when I hear a loud ring from what seemed to be far away. I slowly realize it was my phone's alarm clock, and now that my dream was interrupted, I groan as I start preparing for the day ahead of me. I follow my basic daily routine of showering, brushing, cooking breakfast, eating, etc…

I decide to be a bit early today, as the new boss, Amber, was going to observe the crew at work. I honestly did not want anyone to get fired, so I was preparing to vouch for them, just in case I needed to.

While walking to the restaurant, Eddie and I spot each other, so e walk together towards the restaurant.

"So what do you think about the new owner? You think she'll fire us?" Eddie asks.

"Don't worry pal, I got your back. I'm going to vouch for all of you." I reply.

"Thanks, man. It's good to know that the manager has got our back covered."

"I always got your back."

"We know. That's why we made the old owner agree to make you the manager."

"Yeah, thanks for that."

"You're welcome, man."

The rest of the walk to the restaurant was uneventful, nothing notable happening. As we reach the place, I sigh in relief as Amber was not yet there. I check if everyone of the crew was inside. It was near opening time.

I hold up the list of employees and read the names one by one. As if I needed the list anyway. I know every one of the crew personally, and such a list was not needed. But it was regulation, so...

"Eddie Miller?" "I'm here, bro." 

"Alfred Lewis?" "Ready to sweep the table and wipe the floor."

"Patricia Williamson..." "Ugh, you know full well that I'm here."

"Nina Martin?" "Ready!"

"Mara Jaffray?" "Ready as well."

"And Mick..." Before I finish what I'm saying, he barges in the door, tired and sweaty.

"Yeah, sorry I'm late, Fabian. I went somewhere and I did not realize it was late, so..."

"Save your excuses, Mick. It's your day off yesterday, so you may not know, but there's a new owner. And she's coming today, so act normal as per her instructions and we'll talk about it later, okay?"

"Yeah, thanks Fabian."

"So crew, settle in. I think she'll be arriving any moment now." I walk to the manager's office and wait for the owner to arrive. By the rules given to us by the old owner, if he were to visit, the manager would clear the office so that the owner would use it, and the manager would go and help the crew. The owner rarely visited, so this rule was not widely used, but I still knew of it. As the new owner did not yet have any rules on her own, the old rules were still in effect. I started clearing my stuff, placing them on a safe in the office, then I waited for Amber to arrive.

An hour or so later, when I already decided to help out the crew, Amber arrives, her phone on her ear. She was busy calling someone, laughing at something the person at the other side of the line said. I point her to the recently cleared office. She nods and heads there, still on the phone with whoever she was talking to. She would laugh every once in a while as the customers start coming in after I open the doors to the restaurant.

After a while, she finishes the call and comes out of the office, with a paper in her hand. She calls me to walk to her.

"Oh, sorry about that. That was my best friend Joy calling."

"That's okay, Miss Millington." I look at the paper she was holding. It was blank, except for the names of the crew and their pictures. I notice that I was not in the list, maybe because my place in the restaurant was secure, for now.

She sees me looking at her papers, and so she says. "I'm going to interview them one by one, and I'm going to take notes. I want to know them more, my way. Will that be fine by you, Mr. Rutter?"

"Of course, Miss Millington. You're the owner. I'm not in any position to disagree."

She chuckles. "Okay, can you please call them one by one into my office?"

"Of course."

"Thank you, Mr. Rutter. First up, Mr. Miller. Can you call him to the office?"

"Of course." As she heads back to the office, I head to the cashier's desk and tap Eddie's shoulder.

"Hey, bro, you're up. The owner is calling you to the office."

"But what about the computer?", he asks, pointing to the short line of people forming about the desk..

"I'll man it for the meantime. You'll be fine, I'll take care of this." 

"Thanks, bro." He takes a deep breath, and heads to the office as I process the orders of the people on the line.

It takes almost 15 minutes for Eddie to return.

"How was it?"

"I don't know. She asked me some questions about myself, and then that's about it. And yeah, she does not like waiting, so you should call in the next one as soon as possible."

"Who's next?"

"Mick."

"Okay, I'll tell him."

Mick was a server, so I walk towards the service waiting area of the restaurant to tell him he was up next.

"Hey Mick, you're up next." I point to the office.

"Yeah, man. I'll be there, but who's going to accompany Patricia as server for the meantime?"

"I'll take care of it, Mick. Just go."

Mick hands me the waiter's vest as he heads to the office, and I stand there with Patricia, waiting for orders from the customers.

"Fabian, what's that all about?" Patricia asks me.

"Oh, it's just an interview by the new owner."

"Ugh, really? What a drag." She complains. An order comes up, and she goes to it first, which was a relief. Patricia can be... hard to talk with sometimes...

When Mick comes back from the office, I hand him the waiter's vest back. He tells me that Nina Martin was next, so I headed to the kitchen to tell her.

"Um, Neens. The owner would want to talk to you for a second in the office."

"I'll be there in a second, Fabian. Let me just clean myself up a bit."

"Okay."

While Amber was interviewing the others, I would take turns managing their duties. The old owner was kind of cheap, so we were a bit understaffed and we needed everyone to be working their posts. I did not tell Amber yet, as I did not want to bother her with hiring of new applicants. I'll have to tell her some time.

2 hours have passed before everyone was done being interviewed, and I finally can return to my job as manager. Amber comes out of the office to observe all of us, keeping a watchful eye on everyone, and the job they were doing. She was taking notes on the papers she was holding.

The day went by uneventfully, a normal day by any means. The regulars and the other customers come and go as I watch on, making sure that everything was alright. Amber was in the office, processing things on the computer.

Closing time has arrived, and so I flipped the sign from OPEN to CLOSED. We wait for the last customer to leave, then we start helping Alfie rearrange the tables and chairs back to the normal place they should be in. Then I hear Amber clear her throat. We all look towards her. I can see some were afraid they were going to get fired.

"Everyone, stop whatever you are doing and pay attention." She says sternly. I swallow a lump in my throat, fearing the others might have done something wrong answering the questions at the interview, or that they may have done something wrong while working. The next statement she said was a big surprise.

"You are all fired." He points at everyone, including myself. Everyone looks to each other, ready to leave the place. I think everyone wanted to cry. I can see tears forming on some of their eyes. I had to vouch for them, no matter what.

"But Miss Millington, I can explain."

She shushes me. She starts out sounding irritated, "What can you explain, Mr. Rutter? That everyone's performance is substandard? Is that it?" She looked really angry.

I look down, replying, "I'm sorry, Miss Millington. We're going now." We slowly turn to the door to leave this place, the place we considered our 2nd home, but now that we were all fired, there was nothing we can do but leave.

In a more gentle tone, she clears her throat. "Before you go, I have to tell you... That I'm just playing with you guys." She bursts to an almost uncontrollable laughter, as we stood there, not really knowing what she meant by that.

"Of course you guys aren't fired." She tells us after her laughs subsided a bit. "I'm not that cruel. Besides, I was impressed by the operations of this restaurant. Even though you are understaffed, there's a chemistry about you guys that allows you to work efficiently, and of course I would not want to disrupt the wonderful atmosphere you guys created at this place."

Oh, so that's what she meant. She was just messing with all of us. And we all fell for it. Some breathed a sigh of relief as they too understood what she was saying. I have to say, that was a damn convincing act she had done. We were all fooled by it.

"That was not funny. You almost gave me a heart attack." Patricia groaned.

"It was worth it, seeing all your reactions." She laughed, and they all glared at him, apart from Alfie, who was stunned by what just happened, and myself, who could not help but ask myself, "She's just something else, isn't she?"

"Guys, I'm sorry. Jeez. It's just, my best friend told me to prank you guys, and I couldn't say no."

"Oh, that's cool, I guess." Nina commented, as everyone sort of, understood. After the shock wore off, our composure was back and we continued fixing up the place.

It made Amber ask, "I thought Alfred, um, Alfie told us that music was supposed to be blaring through the speakers as you guys were doing this."

"Um, not if the owner is here, no. And since you're the owner..." I begin.

"I'll allow it. It will be our daily routine."

"OUR daily routine?", we all ask.

"What do you think? I'll be coming here every single day, and I would want to join such... festivities."

"O-kay..." We all look to her, a bit weirded out. It seems that she will be here every day, unlike our old owner, who was rarely here.

"Why? Don't you guys want me to be here? I promise I'll be fun, and not disturb you guys..." She smiles. We talk to each other for a moment, before deciding it was better if she were here with us.

"We want you to be here, Miss Millington." I reply.

"It's Amber, remember? It's after work hours.", she points out.

"Oh, you're right. We want you to be here, Amber."

"Glad to hear it. Now let's get the music up!"

Alfie plays the music with the remote (He was the one in charge of the TV and radio remote, the perks of being the 'janitor'), and we were underway.

 **Hahaha. I hope I did not scare you with that one. You guys honestly thought everyone would get fired, didn't you? Admit the truth. Anyway, I'll be back next time. Thanks for the very kind reviews.**


End file.
